Noise (Committee) (Hansard, 14 December 1959)

§ 2. Mr. Nabarro
asked the Minister of Health, as representing the Minister for Science, whether he is aware of the growing damage to human efficiency, the bad effects upon health, and the incursions into leisure caused by unregulated noise, and that, with each scientific advance, the impact of noise upon the human constitution is growing; and whether he will establish a committee, analogous to the Beaver Committee which led to the clean air legislation of 1956, to inquire into all sources of noise, including jet aircraft, exhausts of sports-cars and motor-cycles, steam hammers pile-driving, pneumatic drills, and un-insulated industrial machine-shops, and to make legislative recommendations.

§ 4. Mr. Ronald Bell
asked the Minister of Health, as representing the Minister for Science, what action he proposes to take to deal with the growing menace to health of mind and body caused by noise of all kinds; and what research under his control is being conducted into it.

§ Mr. Walker-Smith
The Government have decided to set up a committee to examine the nature, sources and effects of the problem of noise and to advise what further measures can be taken to mitigate it. The membership will be announced later.

§ Mr. Nabarro
While I congratulate my right hon. and learned Friend upon this objective and valuable action, may I ask whether, having regard to the complexity and scope of this problem of unregulated noise in modern society, he will ensure that the membership of the committee is established as widely as possible so that expert opinions from every section of the problem may be available to the committee?

§ Mr. Walker-Smith
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing attention to that aspect of the matter. This is, indeed, a very wide subject, and we shall make the membership of the committee as comprehensive as possible, subject always not to making it too unwieldy. I have it in mind that it will be possible, for example, for sub-committees to be set up to examine special and technical aspects of the problem.

§ Mr. Bell
While the subject is indeed complex, will my right hon. and learned Friend make sure that the committee is so selected that its report will be received reasonably quickly and that it will recommend action, because there have been Government committees on noise since the 'twenties and it would be very sad indeed if this turned out to be one of the committees which have sat for many years and resulted in nothing?

§ Mr. Walker-Smith
I am sure that my noble Friend will have fully in mind the desirability of the committee reporting as soon as is practical, having regard to the complexity of the problem and the fact that its recommendations should be followed by appropriate action.

§ Mr. W. R. Williams
Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman be good enough to circulate all local authorities asking them to collate, between now and when the committee sits, all the information, complaints and grievances in their possession in regard to noises other than those adumbrated in the Question?

§ Mr. Walker-Smith
The catalogue of noise in my hon. Friend's Question is very wide, but if there are any sorts of noise which have escaped his particularisation, we can certainly have them in mind.

§ Dr. Summerskill
While the whole House will welcome the announcement by the Minister, the right hon. and learned Gentleman will be aware that there have been other committees whose recommendations have proved abortive. Will he ask this committee to submit an interim report—instead of sitting for a number of years without issuing a report —making recommendations so that the whole country will realise that action is being taken and may take the recommendations as a warning?

§ Mr. Walker-Smith
I am sure the right hon. Lady will have it in mind that it is contrary to practice to ask a committee, at the time of its constitution, to make an interim report. What not infrequently happens in these matters is that when the committee gets to work with the task which is laid upon it, it sees, in its wisdom, that an interim report on certain aspects of the matter could be of great value. I certainly would not exclude the possibility of that happening in this case.